VMWorld: 'The Easiest Way to Test the Waters with Google Cloud Platform is Virtual Machines'

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Enterprise organizations are beginning to recognize the compelling benefits of making the move to Google Cloud Platform but may not know how to get started. In Honor of #VMWorld we present a couple of GCP Virtual Machine posts for your consideration. We're also offering a special 5 hour tour of Google Cloud's 'Compute Engine' which provides the VM Infrastructure as a Service IT Departments have been waiting for.However, there are problems with making the initial move. Many companies want to be able to prove security and ROI before they invest in moving their entire infrastructure over to the cloud. The good news is that there is a way to do just that. Using a Virtual Machine, or VM, like Google Compute Engine, permits customers to "test the waters" with GCP before they dive into the process ahead.

Essentially, Google Compute Engine is a service that permits enterprises to create and run the virtual machines that they need to test out Google infrastructure to its fullest. Compute engine provides performance, scale, and value that allows companies to easily and quickly launch large computing clusters into the Google network. The tooling and workflow support of Google Compute Engine means that any company, of any size, can begin to test the potential of GCP according to their needs, with scaling all the way from single instances, to load-balanced and global computing.

Testing the GCP Without Upfront Investment

Migration to the cloud can be a powerful thing for modern companies. According to a 2017 "State of Cloud" report:

85% of enterprises have a multi-cloud strategy.

Concerns about security fell by 4% last year

Google cloud adoption grew by 5% this year

Companies now run 79% of their workloads in the cloud

The problem, of course, is that the mechanics of workload and data migration for any business can place a strain on IT resources, leaving businesses in a difficult position when deciding how to make the move to the cloud. With virtual machine creation in Google Compute Engine, however, enterprises can access scale, value, and performance that means that they can achieve incredible things with no upfront investments.

Compute Engine from Google provides Virtual Machines that boot quickly, and provide reliable ongoing performance, with plenty of storage capacity too. The virtual servers that you can create are available in a host of useful configurations. Companies can choose whether to create their own size or choose one of the pre-existing settings.

Understanding Google Compute Engine

Compute Engine is Google's approach to "Infrastructure-as-a-Service", or IaaS. Basically, it's a solution that's intended to take the confusion and complication out of setting up your own virtual machine. Virtual machines allow you to scale up and down with the cloud, creating instances based on your own usage needs. Virtualization gives companies flexibility for everything they need when it comes to making the most out of the GCP.

For instance, you can use your virtual machines for the development and testing of new Cloud infrastructure, running new applications for your team, or simply extending your data collection abilities. VMs give enterprises the freedom that comes with open-source software configured to the exact responses that you need. It's like having another rack within your data center, and all the power required to deploy cloud solutions in days - rather than in weeks. In a world where more than 70% of IT budgets are spent on building and maintaining the right structure, it's difficult to get any kind of competitive advantage. Using an IaaS like Google Compute Engine gives companies the ability to differentiate themselves, decrease costs, and improve product quality - all at the same time.

Google has 15 years of experience when it comes to building the key networks used throughout the world such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Search.

Google is part of the team that brought the cloud to life, with containers, large file systems, and the development of big data solutions like NoSQL.

Google can integrate with other key products in the GCP such as BigQuery

Google can manage the underlying software and hardware of their VM systems without having to take the network offline - thanks to live migration

You can have your VMs up and running in less than a minute, which is far faster than the migration offered by any other provider.

Organizations can even access "preemptible VMs" with the Google Compute Engine, which can be anywhere up to 80% cheaper than standard VMs, and very simple to use. All you need to do is flip a switch and you're ready to go. As many Google customers use a number of huge clusters in their networking requirements, Preemptible VMs can lead to huge cost savings and performance solutions. They're ideal for batch processing scenarios all the way from financial analysis to media transcoding.

Flexible Pricing Solutions on Google CLoud PLatform

For companies who are interested in "testing the water", pricing is always going to be important. Compute Engine can be a solution for those who are examining the potential of GCP while keeping a close eye on their budget. Despite incredible benefits like SSD performance to lead the industry, Google also offers exceptional pricing solutions too.

The Google Compute Engine setup means that you can enjoy flexible pricing, with bills that come in minute-level increments. This means that companies only need to pay for the time that they're using - and nothing else. Additionally, the platform comes with sustained usage discounts for those who need to access their VMs more frequently. In other words, if you move to long-running workloads, then you'll get automatically discounted prices while maintaining the flexibility of low prices if you're only using your VMs sparingly.

There's no requirement for companies to buy VMs or SSD storage together, which means that they don't need to shell out money for more than they need. There's also the opportunity to build custom machine types, so you never purchase anything beyond what's perfect for your company.

For cautious CIOs, Google Compute Engine and VMs could be the perfect, custom-made solution to checking out the cloud.